Wandering Elder

I recently heard a Bill Cosby routine that dated way back to 1966.  It was great, funny, and delivered with the style and wit that made Cosby a comic superstar.   I also felt oddly guilty for laughing at it.   Given all that has been going on with the rumors and accusations as to what Cosby did or did not do, I find myself asking, "Is Bill Cosby still funny?"  I don't mean can he still make people laugh in the present - apparently he still can.  But as we hear what seems like one damning accusation after another, can we listen to Cosby's old stuff and still laugh?   I don't know.  It may be that in a few years after this scandal has broken (and I hope it has by then!) and we learn whatever there is to learn or it falls back into the list of scandals that keep so many tabloids in business, we can hear his work for its own sake.  Maybe not.  We as a collective society don't always know what to do with scandal-ridden celebrities. ...

Given the nature of Donald Trump's comments regarding Mexicans, one might think that the GOP candidates for the presidency would try to distance themselves from him.  Perhaps it is his money (or perception of having money) that keeps them from doing just this, but it seems that they are not.  Instead, some of them are re-interpreting his comments.  Suddenly what Trump said wasn't racist or misinformed.  Instead, his words are deflected to be comments about "a pressing issue" of a porous border between the United States and Mexico. That isn't what Trump was talking about at all. But what is it that keeps Trump going?  In some polls, he is on the rise.  In some border states, Trump is finding popularity.  Not with Mexicans and not with Mexican-Americans.  But with those of more fairer skin. Why?  I have to wonder if there isn't some very lose connection between Trump gaining popularity after voicing racist and misinformed statements and t...

To study the Bible does not make one a Christian.  To claim oneself as Christian does not make one a student of the Bible.  It has taken me several years to come to this seemingly obvious and simple conclusion.  Perhaps I have known this all along, but was reluctant to admit it.  Now, though, times are a changin' and with decisions concerning the Confederate Flag and the ruling on homosexual marriage, I find that people who have been quoting the Bible with the most ferocity don't seem to want to study it and those who have studied it don't seem to be making ferocious comments.  That isn't always the case, but it does seem to be true more often than not. With regard to the issue of homosexuality in the Bible, there are roughly 7 passages that speak (directly or indirectly) to the issue of homosexuality.  I recently heard a person quote one that I had not before included into that list.  It was from Judges 19:22 which reads, "As they were making their ...